"I think I've been around this league long enough to understand how this works at times," Brees said. "In a lot of cases, it does go down to the wire, and you need a stopping point in order to bring everyone together and make sure it can get done.

"That stopping point is Monday, so let's hope we get something done by then."

At that point, Mike Greenberg made a labored transition to video of Brees having a catch with country superstar Kenny Chesney. It was hilarious.